Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody drug war will continue.(Creative Commons)

Marijuana Policy

Pennsylvania Lawmaker to File Legalization Bill. Citing a recent report from state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale that legalizing marijuana could create more than half a billion annually in tax revenues for the state, Rep. Jake Wheatley (D-Allegheny) says he will introduce a bill to legalize marijuana. "States from coast to coast have embraced legalization and those states are reaping the economic and criminal justice benefits," Wheatley said in a statement. "It is time Pennsylvania joins with those states in leaving behind the ugly stigma of marijuana."

Dark Web

Imprisoned Silk Road Founder Sees Some Charges Dismissed. Federal prosecutors in Maryland have dismissed an indictment against imprisoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. The indictment contained the only charge that Ulbricht ever engaged in a murder-for-hire scheme. Despite the fact that those charges were never proven, or even tried, they were cited by his sentencing judge in handing down a draconian double life without parole sentence for online drug dealing. Ulbricht is currently appealing his sentence to the US Supreme Court.

International

Canada Set to Approve First Device for Testing Drivers' Saliva for Weed. The federal Justice Department has approved the first device designed to drug test drivers' saliva for the presence of marijuana. Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould has now given a 30-day notice of a ministerial order to approve the Draeger DrugTest 5000, produced by a company based in Germany. The device is already approved in other countries, including the United Kingdom and Germany.

Philippines Police Vow "Surgical and Chilling" Drug War. Philippine police vowed Monday to revamp and ratchet up their fight against crime and drugs just a week after President Rodrigo Duterte promised to keep the bloody campaign going. "Surgical and chilling will be the trademark of the reinvigorated anti-illegal drugs and anti-criminality campaign," police chief Oscar Albayalde told a news conference. Tends of thousands of purported drug dealers and users have been killed in Duterte's crusade, which is now under preliminary investigation by the International Criminal Court.

I am trying to sound the alarm within the marijuana legalization community about the threat to legalization which Trump represents, namely Authoritarian Fascism. I think the evidence is overwhelming...But I am seeing a lot of “both sides”-ism, a false equivalency, within the leaders of our movement (marijuana legalization), or just radio silence on Trump...This is bad. Both of these responses play into Trump’s hands, just as they do when it comes to national issues like Charlottesville. They enable Trump and his fascist control of the media narrative. And I mean propaganda!..I do not think the marijuana legalization movement, which exists only by virtue of free speech, adherence to science, and a deep respect for Truth and Freedom, can survive Trump...I find this all alarming. We cannot take the treasonous political path of the NRA, although they beckon us to support them...You just can’t trust a Trump-loving, goddamn Republican with marijuana legalization...We must not let Republicans represent our cause, because the very first thing they will do is what they always do, and that is: extortion. They are already doing it, right fucking now!..They intend to take our movement hostage, and demand a ransom for their cause: Alt-Right power (that means “white supremacist” power), and Putin-enabled Fascism. It is standard operating procedure for Republicans. Ass-wipes like Rand Paul talk pretty, but always vote with the Fascists. The so-called “Libertarians” who listen to his bullshit are delusional. (Sorry but it’s true. Same goes for the Green Party. Retain your green values; but work for progressives in Democratic primaries. Third parties are Trump enablers, so long as he is around.)..Republicans are NOT “hemp-friendly.” Please. Don’t be a sucker...The Republicans are traitors and propagandists...Why the fuck would ANYONE trust a goddamn Republican to debunk the pseudo-science of Reefer Madness? These motherfuckers won’t even admit Trump colluded with Russia WHEN HE DID IT ON LIVE GODDAMN TELEVISION!! I saw it myself. Didn’t you?..Who gives a flying fuck what Trump and his supporters say about the science of cannabinoids. They reject Science itself! Seriously. The whole idea is ludicrous. You would get a more reliable response from a deck of tarot cards and a bowl of pig entrails. (And it would be less disgusting, too!)..Bottom line is, Republicans are lying, corrupt, Fascist Authoritarians who are, at present time, openly blowing Putin in public. The marijuana legalization community needs to understand that its future does not lie with Fascist Authoritarianism, or with Traitor Trump in any way, shape or form. Trump is a plague. (Actually this is fairly obvious. Those who deny it likely have a hidden agenda.)..Like advertisers making a soft drink commercial showing healthy people drinking an unhealthy substance, Republicans wish to use the popularity of marijuana legalization as a marketing tool for something exactly the opposite: Authoritarianism...Send them all to the unemployment line. Vote Democratic!Register Now!!